Does anybody know whos roundhouse this is/was? Man Chicago is so cool!!!! I really need to get down there and do some train watching, there are some really neat treasures down that way. Bing Maps/Google maps are a railfans best friend. Somtimes I will just pick a line and start following it to see where it goes. Best yet I never have to worry about getting lost.
http://www.bing.com/maps/explore/#5003/0.6002=q:W+Ogden+Ave,+Cicero,+IL+60804:lat:42.2087304420502:long:-88.0010070802188:nosp:0:adj:0&o=&a=0/5872/style=be&lat=qz6xjq&lon=7pndkv&alt=150.427444&z=18&h=90&pid=5874
West Ogden Ave in Cicero is a BNSF Yard (former BN/CB&Q)
OK OK What happened to the other "roundhouse thing ?" and by the way there really are roundhouses in Canadaland.
That is the Manufacturers' Junction Railway, owned by OmniTrax. BNSF main is to the right and BRC goes over it.
For more info: http://www.omnitrax.com/rail_mj.aspx#
Back in the days when kids were allowed to roam railroad yards (the 1950s), I often visited the awesome twin New York Central roundhouses (and the electric motor shops) at Harmon, NY. Closer to home, it was a visit to NYC's North White Plains roundhouse. A bit "dinky", but... Farther afield, the Canadian Pacific roundhouse at Dorval was a great attraction, as was the CNR's facility at Turcott. I have some pictures, from atop locomotives and water towers, at Dorval, c.a. 1958! "You can't go to the roundhouse again!". I am truly sorry that I never visited the facilities in Sydney, NS, where I spent my summers. Did get a full-bore cab-ride (in a Pacific, I think) to Port Hawkesbury, and back, but that is another story. I do have some 616 B&W pictures of that adventure!
Hays
I was looking at the Wisconsin & Southern Wallpaper Page and noticed a picture taken from the turntable towards the round house (http://www.wsorrailroad.com/fan/wallpaper/wallpaper24_1280.jpg). The approach tracks for the round house cross each other. Is this a rare thing or was it fairly common?
James
I'd say it wasn't rare, but neither was it common. I've seen it elsewhere, but it's not universal - nor is it unique. Although many are gone now, it would be interesting to do a poll or survey to see just how common this was - I'd guess at between 1/5 and 1/3 of all turntables/ roundhouses had this.
It depends on the economics and the combination of what the railroad had available for land/ space, and the geometry of what it wanted or came up with for the needed diameter/length of the turntable, the number of stalls wanted, and the distance available to/ diameter of the front of the roundhouse, etc. Stalls close in to the turntable would spread out the tracks so that the frogs would not be needed, but use up a lot of space - big angles between the tracks, and vice-versa.
The frogs of course add complexity and would add to the initial construction cost and future maintenance costs, as well as being a potential cause of derailments. In the linked photo, note that the wing rails of each frog serve as guard rails for the adjoining frogs - except for the right-most track, where a standard guard rail has been installed on the right rail.
Neat photo, and a nice webpage for downloads - thanks for sharing that, too.
- Paul North.
Paul_D_North_Jrsnip...Neat photo, and a nice webpage for downloads - thanks for sharing that, too. - Paul North.
From what I know, this roundhouse was built by the Milwaukee Road for diesel locomotives. I wonder how well the tracks would have held up to steam locos. The six tracks you see in the picture are the only ones for that roundhouse. The other four stalls are used for other purposes, as you can see with stall number ten.
I have another photo I downloaded from that site that shows the Twenty-fifth Anniversary painted loco. on the turntable (it is no longer on the site). After seeing this picture, I went back to check why I had not caught the track configuration in the "Anniversary" photo. The locomotive does a good job of hiding that fact.
The Butler From what I know, this roundhouse was built by the Milwaukee Road for diesel locomotives. I wonder how well the tracks would have held up to steam locos. The six tracks you see in the picture are the only ones for that roundhouse. The other four stalls are used for other purposes, as you can see with stall number ten.
The Janesville roundhouse was built in 1905. Most definitely built for steam engines. Had 11 stalls, over the years a few have been taken out.
Mike WSOR engineer | HO scale since 1988 | Visit our club www.WCGandyDancers.com
Oops!
Over lunch today I looked at a bunch of turntable pictures on RP.net and RRPictureArchives.net (I think that's what it was). Of the 10 or 20 that I could clearly see the rails at the edge of the pit, none of them crossed/ had a frog before reaching the turntable. I know I've seen it before - most likely in urban areas, though then Janesville doesn't fit that criteria - as I shudder at the thought of maintaining such a thing, but I can't find any photos or locations at the moment. So it may have been rarer than I thought - perhaps those few burned themselves too deeply into my track maintenance nightmares, eh ?
James you missed it: in 2005 the WSOR had a wonderful open house in Janesville where you could tour the roundhouse (Kalmbach had a table inside) all you wanted, and Soo Line 2-8-2 1003 was on the turntable, in steam. A variety of diesels was nearby for inspection. It was a wonderful day - I think the WSOR was celebrating its 25th anniversary in addition to the 100th year of the roundhouse.
As I recall, one stall of the roundhouse still had the old steam locomotive smoke collector jack visible in the roof. Other stalls had been modernized somewhat. Not all stalls still have tracks.
We were permitted on the property that day but now it would be tresspassing. But if you get to Janesville and stay on public property you can still have many great opportunities to see the roundhouse and turntable, and if you are lucky you'll see them use the turntable.
Dave Nelson
Mr. Nelson,
I would have loved to have been there. I first came across the Wisconsin & Southern back in '01 or '02. My lady friend and I were out for a drive and found a freight heading out of Fox Lake. I was unaware that the old Milwaukee Road line was still in use. She suggested we follow the train to see where it was going. We ended chasing that train all the way to Janesville. That was the first time I saw the roundhouse. It was late night/early morning and I kept teasing her that the crew was going to call the cops on us. She insisted we drive around until we both had the lay of the land. I remember clearly the two BL2's sitting near the roundhouse and wondering what this railroad was all about. From that day on she and I considered it "our" railroad.
Hi James, Keith Schmidt was with me the day of that Janesville roundhouse open house and he has posted some great photos on this website. You'll get the flavor of what a great day it was (a story: I was taking my shots when I noticed a guy on the ROOF of the roundhouse taking pictures of the turntable. I said to Keith "That guy is going to get kicked off the property and he is giving railfans a bad name." Keith said "That's Bill Gardner who owns the railroad.").
http://www.steamtrainsandtractors.com/Janesville_Roundhouse.html
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.